Just the Diversion
by Dancing Eyes
Summary: Hawkeye and Black Widow are supposed to just be the diversion, but things go very wrong when they're both captured. What will they do?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fiction after being obsessed with this site for quite some time. Just watched the Avengers and fell in love with the pair of them. I hope you enjoy and please review! Thanks!**

"Agent Romanov, you and Clint are to create a diversion so Team B can slip behind and get the directive. Do not let any operatives leave the base, as we don't want them to get back up." Natasha didn't think it would be that hard, she and Clint would have no problem providing a distraction, and severely depleting personnel.

She glanced over at Clint, he was already stocking up on arrows, but he felt her gaze and looked up for a smile. She was always so surprised how…nice his smile made her feel. Enough! Grab your guns, she told herself as she began whipping them into all her holsters.

Clint finished grabbing all his arrows and turned to see Natasha grabbing many, many guns. He liked her confidence, and that she could take care of herself. She would never be a damsel in distress, unless she wanted to be. He thought about her training sessions, how ruthless she could be, which was good. In her, their line of work that was good, because when she fought she fought to win.

The airplane began leveling out, and they grabbed their parachutes. They both knew what both of them would do. Clint would land on a tall building and begin with his explosive arrows, while Natasha would go for lower ground and shoot as the men came streaming out of the building. They jumped out, intending to do just that.

And they did, at first. Then Natasha noticed first. "They're covering something by the doorway; can you see what it is?"

Clint looked at the door and tried to focus, while still whipping out arrows and shooting them at the hordes below. "No, I can't see. Do you want to go, or shall I?"

"Kinda busy, go for it." Natasha said shortly as she dispatched 8 guys in one of her favorite maneuvers. Other operatives quickly took their place; she scanned the area looking for potential threats. She saw Clint shoot the arrow to slide down to get by the door.

Then, when he was sliding down, the operatives fanned out to reveal a bazooka. They shot it before Natasha could so much as warn him. Fortunately, he swung around the wire, and missed the blast. However the line was cut and he was flying down fast. Too fast.

She dispatched the men quickly, and ran to get by him.

Clint eyed the ground as he raced toward it. There were men a little before him, so if he dropped ... now! He toppled on top of them. One guy's chin dug into his shoulder, and the other operatives were already circling. Clint got up quickly and eyed them all, waiting for the first move. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Natasha was almost here. She was dealing with a few tails.

There was a quick motion and one of the operative whipped out a gun, and he started to dodge without thinking. Not the smartest…goon in the world. It got to a point in his job that you stopped remembering names of organizations when fighting; it was just people who wanted to kill you.

More gunshots, Natasha was in range. As she was fighting a few guys, she glanced over to Clint. She was struggling as the operatives had elected to just try to grab him. But one was coming up behind her... "Clint behind you!" She yelled. The operatives took that as the cue to try the same strategy on her at that moment, so she just had to watch in desperation as the guy raised his knife.

She grabbed her gun and shot him in his shoulder, it worked and he dropped the knife and grabbed the Taser.

Clint felt the electricity enter his body as he gritted his teeth to stay conscious, but his limbs were already betraying him as he dropped to the ground. His eyes rolled up, as he fell to the ground unconscious.

Natasha knew she had to act fast if he was going to get out and get Barton back to base. However, she was till pinned, but that was a short problem as she kicked and punched with new ferocity to get him. She still owed him, and as she often said, he would die at her hand and no one else's.

"We don't care about your 'Team B' trying to steal our equipment, although they were easily taken out in the ambush; we wanted you." One of the operatives that were tying Barton's arms together told her. Then she felt five or more needles stab their way into her skin. She grabbed two out before she got too dizzy to stay standing. She swayed, and stumbled to her feet. She knew it was better to play dead and see what they wanted from her, but they also had Clint so she tried to keep fighting for him. But she succumbed and she fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.

**So yes, please review! Be gentle and if you have any ideas please share them! I have a few but I'm always open to suggestions, that's one of the great things about sites like these, so thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoops! Realized I forgot to put my disclaimer on the first chaper, yeah I don't own Avengers...wish I did, but I don't.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews, they mean so much to me and I definitely try to use some of your ideas! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2**

Natasha felt herself slipping back into consciousness, then she felt stinging blow across her cheek.

"Get up, bitch! We know you're awake." The voice was male, and Natasha eye's opened. She looked around to get her bearings.

She was bound to a chair, and the lighting was greenish and the air was damp. Her brain exploded with possible locations she was being held. Unlike Barton, she always was acutely aware of who she was fighting, how else would she get under their skins? The light and air suggested underground, so she was underground, the enemy wanted to make it look like she was underground…her mind raced through. No, they had been fighting Hydra. This wasn't Hydra's style. Her information said that Clint and her were on some hit list.

So, if she was kidnapped by Hydra what was she doing alive? Then she focused on her captors, and blood ran cold.

She saw the Red Skull and Yelena Belova. She'd read the files on Red Skull, he was incredibly intelligent. Particularly at odds with Captain America, he was the reason Steve had been frozen for so long. He was very well connected and ruthless, she could only imagine this was a ploy to get to Steve.

Yelena, on the other hand, was much more of a handful. Even now she was smirking at the sight of Natasha bound. Yelena had been trained in the Black Widow program after Natasha had left for SHIELD and Yelena wanted the name for herself. They'd fought often, and she had a grudging respect of how quickly Yelena improved each time.

"Yelena, Red Skull." She inclined her head, as her mind raced to Clint. Where was he? What had they done to him? Her stomach clenched for the first time, not because of the two villains before her, but for him. She'd been kidnapped often, in fact it was the easiest way to get information was to let the captor believe they had power over you, but Clint had never been with her. And after Loki….well Natasha knew Clint didn't want to be brainwashed ever again.

"Looking for your partner, mein Black Widow?" Red Skull leered.

"Of course she is," Yelena studied her face, and Natasha glared at her, "well take a look." She snapped her fingers and some henchmen dragged in Clint.

Natasha's heartbeat accelerated as she searched for injuries. He had a lot of bruises, cuts to his lips, and as the henchmen were setting him up in the chair they set up a needle connected to a bag of liquid.

"Before you ask, that's a special blend of chemicals. You have it too, in case you didn't notice," and Natasha glanced at her hand and saw she was tapped to a bag of chemicals too. "I'm shocked; did you notice that you can't move from neck down?"

Natasha had, actually, but she assumed it was a maneuver to be expected to detain someone of her…skill set. She already saw several ways to sever the liquid holding her down, but most of them would involve Yelena and Red Skull to be made aware of that, and while they had Clint she would play along.

Well, a little.

Honestly, did Yelena think that all the training Yelena got was what they gave to Natasha? And that Natasha didn't study outside of what the Russians gave her? She was immune to a lot of potions, and time with SHIELD had increased that count. She was already gaining feeling up her arms, and she was sure her fingers could move if she wanted them too.

"You will die, and so will he." Yelena moved out of Natasha's field of vision. Yelena was right behind her as she whispered in Natasha's ear, "Everyone has a weakness, Natasha, and I'll admit, you aren't the easiest person to find a weakness for. For many, it's a weak spot in their fighting, tactics, but you? Made the first mistake, never give your heart away. You may not say anything, but it's all over you both." Natasha's blood ran cold, Yelena had a serious grudge and she had no doubts Clint would play a significant role in Yelena's plans.

"We were fighting Hydra, and if I remember they want Hawkeye and I dead, so why are we here?" Natasha asked to try to get some information.

"Ha, Hydra's a fool. They focused on their precious weapons and believed we'd hand you over after we worked so hard to get you." The Red Skull eyed her without looking away. The concentration unnerved Natasha, but only a little.

"So what do you want with us?" She asked to direct focus off the chemicals. She decided to make her move sooner than later, use every opportunity she could was essential.

"My client has a score to settle with Captain America, and upon learning of my own bitterness for you, decided we would be well to join skill sets." Yelena said.

"So what? We're the damsels in distress?" Natasha scoffed; if she could just keep Yelena talking…she was almost done peeling the needle from her skin…

Red Skull turned and immediately noticed her attempts; to cease them he hit her quite hard. Her nose and mouth began bleeding. He then readjusted the dosage and reset the needle. Yelena had grabbed Hawkeye and was moving him over to lean against the wall. She severed his needle to the chemicals; he was weak and didn't need it. It might even harm him before she'd had her fun. She did however inject him with another blend.

He watched her blonde hair, which was so different from the _real_ Black Widow's hair. But he knew he had to bid his time. He was already gaining the upper hand by drugging Yelena's food and drink. He didn't trust her, and she would make him much happier if she was under his control. He knew he was disfigured, but it was a sign of commitment to his country. When this was all over, he'd have time to dedicate to studying her.

Yelena smiled as she felt the Red Skull's eyes on her; she knew her body was just another advantage to the job. She was more focused on Black Widow; she should have been more alert to Natasha's schemes. She used them often enough anyway. Her blood always boiled when she thought of her rival. By the end of this job Natasha would be dead. But not after she felt pain at watching her lover die. As she followed Red Skull out of the room, she injected Natasha with another syringe, just in case. She hadn't gotten to where she was with underestimating people.

"We've been trying to track them all morning, Director Fury, and we have reason to believe they are not dead yet; but I don't need to tell you time is of the essence." Maria Hill finished her report to Nick Fury.

He turned, "Who's available?" He was listening, after the Avengers saved the day, he had made it a priority to make sure the members lived to save the next. This did not include having two get kidnapped. But he wouldn't be the director if he hadn't thought of it and planned for it.

"Iron Man isn't returning our calls, actually he dumped one of our agents in the ocean the last time we…requested his…input, and he would be an unlikely candidate. While his suit and weaponry would make him valuable to locate them, his…personality might make it more public than this. needs to be." Maria was holding the latest touch screen and had called up all the files on the Avengers.

"Agreed." Fury was keeping an eye on Stark and knew he was currently in the Caribbean enjoying a holiday with Pepper Potts. "Have we been able to contact Thor yet?" He asked.

"No, after taking Loki, he has not communicated with any of us. We've been monitoring it and there's a team trying to figure how to open a portal or at least send a message." Hill updated her files with the recent reports of that commission. "The Hulk, for obvious reasons, would be ill advised to take this case. However, Dr. Banner could be of some help tracking them down. He's brilliant, and while this isn't gamma radiation, I think he might help."

"Extend the invitation, but if he refuses, let it go. We need to play nice if we want him when it gets tough."

"Understood." She used the computers to send three of their best agents to ask nicely. "That leaves Captain America."

"Sign him on to this, he's perfect. He'll be low key enough to send in, and won't draw too much attention to ourselves."

"Already done sir."

**Yep, so please review! I like ideas, comments, anything you think I need to hear! It really makes my day when I get reviews, so please do!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this one is a little shorter, the next one will be longer**

**Thanks for ideas you are sharing, and I love getting reviews...they're wonderful!**

**As always, I don't own anything remotely related to the Avengers or Marvel or anything else.**

Chapter 3

Hawkeye woke up, slowly. He was having trouble remembering what happened…he had fallen, and fought. There was something he was very scared about, that chilled him to his core. When he opened his eyes, he remembered.

Natasha's head was hanging limp in the chair in front of him. He tried to go to her, but he was bound with ropes. Now, he was no Black Widow, but that didn't mean he was incompetent spy. He was out in seconds. He rubbed his wrists to regain feeling as he crawled over to Natasha. There was something wrong, he was seeing double. He struggled to focus, and pulled out the needle and unbound her from the chair.

She was still unconscious, and he pulled her down from the chair gently. His heart beat faster when he saw that she was covered in blood. The fact that he saw double made it all the worse as all he saw was red. His mind was haunted with what they could have done to her, and he looked at her injuries. She would be okay, and she was beginning to stir.

He pulled her over to a wall, where they had clear view of the door. She blinked a few times, and something had obviously thrown her off balance.

"Clint?" She murmured. She was waking up, and she slid closer. Clint knew what she was doing, and slid his arm around her waist. She was covering up the conversation as casting the illusion of a romantic moment. Natasha knew that Clint knew what she was doing, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy his strong arm circling her waist.

Clint also was aware of the stunning woman clinging close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wanted to tilt her head and meet her lips so badly, but he knew that information was more important at this point. If they made it out of here, they'd make time for that later.

"Natasha, are you okay? What happened?" Clint asked, he rested his head near her ear and spoke in low tones. She filled him in on their captors. Natasha told him everything, so he was already aware of the threat that Yelena posed; and the Red Skull was renown for his villainous plots with the Nazis.

"Natasha, I'm seeing double. I don't think I'll be that great when it comes to the escape attempt." Clint murmured.

"Yes, I think that's Yelena's doing. She's drugged me as well, by balance is significantly skewed. She's making sure we don't escape." Natasha clung closer to him. She didn't need to tell him how much she was unnerved by her helplessness. She always was in control of situations, being unable to do anything both frustrated and scared her.

"So we're just supposed to be bait for Cap when he comes?" Clint intentionally used the nickname for Captain America when they didn't call him Steve because even if the enemy was listening, they wouldn't gather any info about Steve.

Natasha was quiet, just because she was physically impaired didn't mean she had stopped thinking. If anything she was thinking more, much more. Her thoughts spiraled down as she wondered if the drug would wear off…what if it was permanent…she would never work again…would Clint still care if his partner was no longer able to be his partner?

As if reading her thoughts, Clint tightened his arm to comfort her. No, she knew that Clint didn't look at them, at her like that. She knew that she…cared more for him than any other partner. Based on his actions, she thought he cared for her quite a bit too.

She would get them both out of here alive. That was a promise. Her eyes narrowed as she imagined the fight between her and Yelena…she'd been practicing.

**Thanks and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Um, I don't own anything Avengers related, Marvel realated, or Disney **

**I hope you like this, it is a little darker than before...**

**Thanks to alfristoner for giving me some good ideas! Really appreciate it!**

Chapter 4

They came often, and it got to a point where all you had to do was look at Yelena to figure out who was getting the brunt of it. Clint and Natasha figured that 'visits' were a reward or a stress reliever. Red Skull didn't come in that often, but Natasha had seen the camera first and was sure Red Skull was watching. If Yelena came in happy and pleased in a sickly manner, Natasha knew Clint was going to get the brunt, because Yelena was patient to hurt Clint and have Natasha feel the emotional pain. However, if Yelena was not happy, and she was frustrated, she was a lot more direct and just hit Natasha.

It wasn't fun, and they tried to nurse each other's injuries best they could. One thing they were grateful for was that they weren't split up. As hard as it was to watch the other get kicked in the stomach again and again, it was better than having no idea if they were dead or alive.

"Clint, we need to train. We haven't trained…well in a while." Natasha had no way of knowing how long they'd been there.

"I know Nat, but you're in no shape to train and neither am I." Clint said. Natasha looked angry, "I know, I know…" Neither of them liked how helpless they were becoming. Clint looked at Natasha, she was healing nicely except for a few deep cuts which were covered with bandages. _Just the diversion_, he thought with a certain cynicism. Yeah they weren't going to be the diversion for quite some time.

The door swung open, and Clint felt Natasha tense in his arms. He wanted to comfort her, but truth was, he was just as nervous. They heard the click of boots, as the Red Skull marched in. Clint wasn't sure what they were in for. He knew that Red Skull had been a Nazi, but he knew little beyond that.

Two men stood behind the Red Skull, and the Red Skull said, "I want her." The two men got closer, and Clint spun Natasha behind him. There was no damn way they were taking her, he had gone through a lot, but they weren't touching her.

The first one did an expert kick behind Clint's knee and his leg gave out. There was a nauseating thud as the knee cap his the ground. The man grabbed Clint's arms in a complicated hold, and Clint knew if he was at full strength, it would have been easy. But he was dizzy from little food and water.

The other man grabbed Natasha, who was also fighting. Clint had to admit, she was good. Even through everything, she still took the man down. But Red Skull was having none of that. He flicked out a blade, and pressed it to Clint's throat.

Natasha looked into Red Skull's eyes to see if he would use it or not. They were calm, and merciless. The blood red color held images of anger and obedience. "Don't move." Red Skull said. Three more men came in and grabbed Natasha.

"Natasha!" Clint yelled and tried to struggle.

"Clint, it's going to be okay." Natasha was fully aware that these might be her last words. She wanted them to be full of comfort; it would be so hard for him if she died.

Clint watched as one silver tear slipped down her cheek. Natasha never cried. The Black Widow never cried. He knew he had been a bit lax with his reading, but Natasha never was. If it was that bad, it was very bad.

She was taken out of the room, and the Red Skull followed behind her. The man released Clint and darted out of the room before Clint could retaliate.

He had lost her. The only woman who had ever completely trusted him. He was the only person she completely trusted. Now she was gone.

He had to hold on to the sliver of hope, the smallest possibility that she would come back in time. Or maybe SHIELD would swoop in and save them. He couldn't take thinking of the alternative.

Clint knew this was bad, he needed to get angry not hopeless. He imagined an arrow right through the eye of Red Skull and maybe one through the throat for good measure. Hell, why not everywhere? Every inch gushing blood.

Natasha was not happy. She had shown weakness. If she was going to get through this to go back to Clint, she needed to drop Natasha like Black Widow drop kicked Baron Von Strucker weeks ago. She felt her eyes glint with new found purpose as she slipped easily into the role of whatever it took to get out.

She was no stranger to torture; someone in her line of work was bound to get her fair share. Red Skull liked poisons. Chemicals, that's what he did. He had been the first to take the Super Soldier Serum, but it wasn't done yet and ruined his visage. She knew that was a tender area, and she held it close in case she needed to use his vanity or lack of against him.

Red Skull was very, very happy. Yelena was almost done with the necessary dosages to be under his control. He planned to test this by seeing how she would react if he killed her precious captive. He was done keeping them alive. It wasn't his style, a quick bullet would be faster. Captain America would still come, swooping in with a vengeance. It would even make it more likely that if anything went wrong, he wouldn't hurt the Red Skull to stick close to his precious 'morals.' He pulled out his favorite kit, lots of poisons and antitoxins. He had many he wanted to try out, he'd heard that the Black Widow had a certain tolerance for poisons, let's see how long that would let her live under his…tender care.

**Yep, so please review! I love it when you guys and gals do that!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Um...yep still don't own anything...**

Chapter 5

Captain America had been playing a round of baseball. It was important to him to have a well-rounded life, and that did not include devoting all his time to fighting. Then a woman with sunglasses approached him with a file.

"Steve Rogers, SHIELD has a mission for you. Agent Romanov and Agent Barton have been kidnapped by an unknown group. We have reason to believe that more than one individual is behind this."

Captain America was surprised, of all his teammates on the Avengers Black Widow and Hawkeye were the last people he expected to have to save. He'd assumed Tony would blow something up first, or the Hulk would rampage. If they'd been kidnapped, this was serious. He opened the folder, and began reading.

Then he got angry.

"How long has he been alive and you not told me?" Steve slammed his hands down on the table. Fury just stood impassively.

"You know we don't freely give information. We've been trailing the Red Skull for quite some time. Now, if I were you I'd start looking. You know what he does with prisoners he keeps." Steve just left, venting some of his frustration by severely denting a poor offending garbage can. He passed by the tracking services, and was surprised to see Dr. Banner working.

"What are you doing here? I thought you left for good." Steve asked, leaning against the door.

"That's what I thought too, I take it you got brought in about 'Agent Romanov' and 'Agent Barton'? I've been looking for them, and I've set up the algorithm for the computer to scan for. I'm getting better at SHIELD technology, and that worries me."

"I have to say I'm surprised they convinced you." Steve said, nodding with a smile.

"Well, after they found me so easily I tried for Africa. Of course, I knew they were following me but on some level I needed to believe they trusted me enough to deal with, the other guy, on my own. When they came, I realized they were desperate. I mean, come on, they have all the scientists they could possibly get their hands on, and they come to a gamma radiation expert?"

"You are brilliant." Steve offered.

"Maybe, but not like this." Bruce sat down and put his head on his hands. He looked tired. He had probably been working through the night to construct the algorithm. 70 years ago it would have taken weeks, if they had even had the technology. That couldn't translate that fast.

"When will it be done?" His voice was grim. He remembered the man who had risked millions of lives to be a god, or so he thought.

"Soon, you should rest. When the system finds them, you're leaving that minute. They fight even have you sleep in the heli-carrier." Bruce joked.

"You're not coming?" Steven asked.

"Tall, green, with a bellow that can shatter windows, the other guy isn't exactly low profile." Bruce said.

"Thanks." Steve said. Bruce just sighed, and shooed him from the office.

Captain America was frustrated. They had known where the base was for days, so why weren't they in there. SHIELD had sent two other agents to assist him. Apparently there was some technological shielding booby-trap thing that had to be taken care of.

It didn't surprise him that Red Skull had taken to this technological world so easily. He'd always been creating new machines and using the latest technology. The team said there was some sort of atomic bomb sensor; maybe that was it. Whatever it was, it was a threat.

So the men had called in a lot _more_ men. No one was trying to explain it to him. Then, there was a massive surge in power and then the building, which was a cover to an underground base, went dark.

"Move in!" One man hissed. That was all Steve needed to hear, as he ran stealthily into the complex. As he stepped in the lobby, he knew based on the plans he needed to get to the southwest wall, which led to the entrance of the tunnel.

Of course, this was heavily guarded. A lot of men came at them, and Captain America tried to disable as many as possible.

After a few minutes of concentrated fighting, he reached the wall. He pulled his arm back and punched it with everything he had. The wall burst apart with a loud _**THWOOM! **_That shook the building.

Clint heard it, and looked up. He was hopeful, that was the sound of a battle, and he needed to be ready to help anyway he could. He had to find Natasha. He pulled himself up and focused on how to make his move.

Yelena heard it too, and she immediately called all nonessential personal to protect the base. She was very very angry. She looked at the monitors and looked for Natasha. Clint was still in his cell, and she was…in the Red Skull's chambers? Her arms were hanging above her head, and her feet weren't touching the ground. She was jerking around like a rag doll as the Red Skull pulled out a syringe. That was her prisoner! She would kill Natasha and no one else. She grabbed her guns, and raced to the Red Skull's room.

The Red Skull was impressed, a normal human would have given up seven or five poisons ago, but she was still fighting for control. He admired her dedication. But it would not last very long. Then he heard the bang and lights began lighting up as he saw people headed this way. He growled, he did not like to be interrupted. He realized this would probably send Yelena to him and she might not be pleased to see him hurting her captive.

The Marvin and Arthur guarding Clint's prison were new at this. Not that they were going to say anything about that. When a friend had told them of a great job, they jumped on it as fast as they could. They did not want to get on the bad side of either of their bosses. Marvin had been a night security guard, which he boasted was for the Pentagon. It was actually for the Washington public library. Arthur was just an accountant, hoping to supplement his income.

It was quiet in the cell, and they looked nervously at each other. They had heard the command to go fight, but they weren't sure if they were "essential personal" or not. So they stayed.

"What if they alarm was because of the prisoner escaping?" Marvin asked Arthur edgily. He eyes flickered back and forth. The library had never been this exciting.

"I don't know, you check!" Arthur said his voice wobbling. Marvin didn't want to, and they bickered in hushed tones for a few minutes.

"Together!" Marvin demanded. Arthur nodded, and they opened the cell door.

Clint had been listening for a while, enough to know they were going to peek, so he positioned himself behind the door so they would see him. It worked, and they opened the door up wide. He simply knocked them out, they didn't seem that bad. They had been wearing guns though, which he grabbed.

The double vision drug was out of his system, so he had his aim back. He wasn't overly fond of guns, they were Nat's thing. But he'd use them. He found the armory after interrogating a guard, and grabbed his bow and arrows. Now, he needed to find Natasha. This were about to get messy.

**Sorry about Marvin and Arthur...seriously no idea where they came from...kinda like them though...**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Make me a happy person!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Don't own anything!**

**Thanks peanut2lb for letting me know I should use page breaks! Hopes this helps readability!**

**Chapter 6**

Natasha was still holding on. The Red Skull had definitely been thorough in his poisons, she was in a lot of pain. She writhed in agony as her body expressed such a level of pain she had not felt in a long time. She'd never tested her limits, but this guy was getting damn close. This particular poison hurtled into her arms and legs, leaving them burning as she used everything she had not to scream. She didn't even notice Red Skull, she was in her own world of pain.

* * *

The Red Skull circled her with a predatory air, casually wondering if it would be worth it to save her just to do it all over again. But he knew Captain America would be coming soon, so he'd have to focus on that. He had been amused when he learned that his foe had survived, but hardly surprised. The Red Skull had left humanity behind, he was better than them and he knew it. He was looking forward to taking down that silly symbol of freedom. What a stupid concept, there was only power and he wielded his power.

* * *

Captain America was racing down the hallway, when this woman practically collided with him. Her short blonde hair differentiated her from Natasha, but she wore similar clothing. She quickly sized him up and they exchanged a flurry of blows. Steve blocked several of her attacks, but she got a few good kicks that would definitely lead to a lot of bruising.

"Aren't you at all concerned with your teammates and what I've been doing to them?" She taunted him.

"Ma'am, I will ask you one time, where are my friends?" Steve asked, as he attempted to pin her arms to her sides, but she flipped herself out of his reach.

"You really just asked that question?" She asked. Steve quickly realized she wasn't going to answer, and he whipped out his shield and sent it towards her. It collided with her so quickly, she was thrown to the wall. She slumped unconscious.

Steve picked up his shield and began running in the direction that that girl had come from, hoping she would lead him to where ever she had kept Natasha and Clint. As he rounded the corner, he saw a familiar face running down the hall.

"Clint!" He called out, and the figure turned.

* * *

Clint turned and saw Steve. He felt so relieved, but he didn't stop. Captain quickly caught up with him.

"Woah, Clint you need some medical attention." Steve said as he saw the bruising, coated blood, and bandages.

"Maybe, but I need to get to Natasha. The Red Skull has had her for over an hour and I…" Clint took a deep breath. "We need to help her." He finished.

Steve was quiet for a moment, "Do you know where he took her?"

"I'm guessing his private rooms, it doesn't look like he and Yelena get along very well." Clint said.

"Follow me, I memorized the schematics and I know where his room is. Who's Yelena?" Steve asked.

"Long story, blonde that looks like Natasha, she's got a major grudge with Natasha." Clint huffed; he hadn't had a chance to move much, much less dash around a large series of corridors. He hoped Natasha could hang on for a little bit longer. _I'm coming Nat._

Steve remembered the woman, "I think I met her. I took her down though."

"How?" Clint asked his voice suddenly harsh.

"With my shield, it pinned her against the wall, I left her unconscious."

"She's not, damn it! She's probably there already!" Clint growled.

Yelena had indeed been faking it. She knew she could depend on the naïve Captain to not check on the 'poor defenseless girl.' She smiled; she took a detour and took down a squadron of SHIELD troops on her way. She was going to kill Red Skull.

Captain America burst through the door, with Clint following close behind, bow drawn. He quickly scanned the room, and stopped stunned when he saw Natasha.

* * *

She was still.

* * *

Captain on the other hand had eyes only for the Red Skull. "So Captain, you finally found us." Captain rushed him, so Clint could get to Natasha faster.

Clint got her out of the shackles as quickly and gently as he could. He folded her down gently to the ground, and felt for a heartbeat. It was erratic, that was a bad sign.

"Natasha, I'm here. Please, Natasha." He begged her as his arms circled around her.

She stirred a little as she opened her eyes, "Grey vial on the stand." Natasha felt a calm settling over her. The Red Skull had taunted her with the antidotes to all his poisons as she had suffered. Her voice had been the merest whisper and Clint had to be sure he'd heard her. He had absolute faith, if she said it he trusted her. He dashed over and grabbed the vial. He poured in down her mouth.

She coughed and sputtered, but her heartbeat settled into a normal rhythm. Clint smiled as he pulled her close. A loud smack, drew his attention to where Steve and the Red Skull were fighting.

Captain had landed on punch on Red Skulls jaw and Red Skull retaliated by hitting Steve's shoulder so badly he dislocated it. Clint grabbed an arrow and shot it at the Red Skull, and while his accuracy wasn't 100% perfect, it still hit him and distracted him long enough for Steve to pop his should back into place and continue fighting.

"Clint, I can't fight Yelena right now." That was the understatement of the century she could hardly sit up much less fight with a deadly assassin, but Clint knew it had taken a lot for her to admit that.

"Don't worry; I'll get us out of here." He promised.

**Thanks for reading! Please review to make me happy!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry for it being so long! Crazy week, studying for exams I can't believe we're not out yet! Still I tried to give you something good!**

**Chapter 7**

Yelena was seriously ticked, she'd had to plow her way through over 40 men to get to the room, but some of them were her own! Actually they were the Red Skull's henchmen and she was disgusted that he thought they would stop her.

She burst in the room, and immediately saw Captain America getting ready to throw another punch at the Red Skull. She rushed in, and pushed Captain America to the side, kicking him in the gut to make sure he stayed out of her way. She had unfinished business with Red Skull.

"I wondered when you'd get here, my dear." Red Skull taunted.

"Yes, your weak force merely slowed me down." She said, as she began a series of kicking and punching. She was forcing him into a corner to limit his movements, when his fist shot out. She had been aware that he had taken the super soldier serum when it had first began, but now she felt the power of the fist, and she rolled her chin to the side to prevent him from breaking her jaw. She then continued the attacks.

"As they were meant to." Red Skull continued. They said no more as each tried to fight for dominance.

Red Skull had known that Yelena was skilled, it was one of many reasons he had been interested in her. He also knew his own strengths, and while he had thought it would be easy to take her down without resorting to the poison coursing through her veins that would allow him to give her simple commands, he hadn't been able to give her enough to make her a complete slave, but that was okay, he was actually being challenged by her.

He felt her relentless fury and merciless precision targeting pressure points, tendons, and other weak points to inspire pain. He was intrigued she was aiming for pain more than to kill him, but she was doing a fair share of trying to do that as well.

Captain America could only watch as his arch nemesis and the woman he had thought he had disabled fought. He had been very bruised with the Red Skull battle, and Yelena had quite the kick, but the smartest thing would be to let one finish the other off and then apprehend the victor. He glanced over to Natasha and Clint. Clint was trying to make Natasha more comfortable.

As quietly as he could, to not draw notice to himself, which was quite difficult due to his very patriotic red, white, and blue stars and stripes, he got closer to Natasha and Clint.

While Natasha had been spared the immediate effects of the poisons, Clint knew she was still very much at risk.

"Cap, how bad are you injured?"

"I'll be fine, what do you have in mind?" Steve was determined to do what he could to help.

"I need you to take Natasha back to SHIELD immediately. She needs to get through the tunnels safely and get some medical attention. Not only from the poisons, although that is a large part of it, she also has experienced many untreated injuries as well." Clint explained.

"No, Clint I'm not leaving you here alone with Red Skull and Yelena. I'll be fine, you have my guns right? I'll do what I can here." But Natasha's voice was faint and she cursed it for betraying her weakness at a time when she needed to portray every inch of strength and formidability she possessed.

"Nat, there is no way I'm letting you go another minute without medical attention. I don't know what Red Skull used on you or what effects it could leave on your system. Not to mention the fact that a few minutes ago you were dying in my arms." Clint looked deep in Natasha's eyes.

She knew what he was really saying, _I don't want you to die because you didn't get medical attention in time. _She knew he was begging for her to do this with every fiber of her being. She knew if the roles were reversed, there would have been no question. She also knew there wasn't much she could do, she wasn't entirely sure she could even hold a gun stable in this condition, much less help stop Red Skull and Yelena.

But they were the problem, that was two very dangerous people and Clint would be left alone with them. There would be no one to help him, and she knew very strongly that Yelena was dangerous and with her new found knowledge, that Red Skull was bad news too. She knew she just had to trust Clint. She had to trust Clint not to die. It hurt but she knew that Clint needed to know she would be okay.

"Fine." She said. Cap nodded, and gathered her in his arms. He slipped out the door with her noiselessly and the combatants didn't notice him go.

Natasha felt Cap running as smoothly as he could to not jostle her, but her entire body was tense as she fought the urge to leap from his arms and run to help Clint. She just needed to trust Clint.

Steve felt Natasha in his arms, and he saw the sweat on her face and how she held her body. He had seen pictures of the Red Skull's captives and they had not been very pretty. He admired Clint choice to get her out of there, possibly at the risk of his own safety and back up. Natasha's face was getting paler and paler as blood left her face. He tried to be as gentle as he could, it would only be a few more minutes.

Clint watched the battle, carefully. Looking for injuries to be exploited, weaknesses in fighting styles, etc. He was also maneuvering his way around the room to get the best spot to use his arrows. He wasn't anticipating using many of them, as this was a relatively enclosed space, but he could use a few to wound his opponents making it far more likely the fight would go in his favor.

His arm was still sore, but he wouldn't let that him. Once he'd had to shoot with a broken arm, so then of course Natasha had him practice for hours shooting with a broken arm so he would never have to worry about that again. That had been a painful few weeks. He needed to focus, but he remembered when the Avengers had teamed up for the first time. It seemed so long ago.

Of course, he didn't remember most of it, being Loki's slave and all. Natasha had been quite…peeved when she learned he still felt guilty for that. She was very adamant, and she had gotten him to understand that it wasn't his fault he'd been manipulated. He had never spoken of it again, it was too close to what Nat had gone through, and it was painful for her.

Wow, he had to give it to Red Skull and Yelena, they were both talented fighters. She was very precise, but still had strength. Red Skull was using mainly blocks to stop her attacks, but he noticed when he struck, Yelena staggered.

"Well, it's always good to practice although I was hoping for a more challenging opponent. I will see you again." Red Skull sneered, and then threw something at the ground that exploded into smoke.

Clint and Yelena coughed a little, but listened very carefully. There were a few faint steps, which meant he was still in the room. Clint assumed Yelena knew, Natasha would at least. Besides, he wasn't planning on underestimating her.

"Damn" Yelena swore, she knew Red Skull was still in the room. That wasn't what she was angry about, she was angry about was that she hadn't noticed Natasha and Captain America disappear. That would get her killed! The archer was still here, Clint Barton. She'd kill him, and then Natasha would come to him. Then once he was dead, she'd kill Red Skull. There was no rush for him.

She turned toward Clint, and that was all the cue he needed to loose several arrows in her direction. She flipped her way past most of them, but they nicked her arms and legs. She didn't give her injuries a second glance, as she cartwheeled towards Clint keeping her movements so fast he'd have difficulty getting a target.

Once she was close enough, Clint swung his bow at her and it hit her on the side of the ribs, pushing to her one side. He pressed the attack, not letting her readjust to the pain. He followed through with a series of punches. She returned the favor with continuing the kicks and acrobatics. She pulled out a gun and began firing. Now Clint was on the defensive, he tried to move them out of the way, but she shot him in the arm, thankfully not his shooting arm.

He fell backwards; he aimed himself to land on the bed. The room was pretty open, well now it was filled with signs of a battle, but it had been very nice. He fell on the bed, and she lept on the bed with him, pressing a knife to his throat.

_I'm sorry Natasha_, Clint thought.

**Please review! I promise to be faster in the coming days...hopefully!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry everyone that's its so late! This one gets a little more into Yelena, and to the best of my knowledge it's pretty consistent with her experiences in the comics according to the Marvel Universe wiki. Sorry as well, there's a lot of perspective switching!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own pretty much anything related to the Avengers, Marvel, or anything else even remotely that epic.**

Chapter 8

"Enough, I will not have you sacrificing the bait to let out your anger issues. Drop the dagger and come here." Red Skull's voice broke through the silence. Clint looked up at Yelena and saw her eyes were filled with anger as she pulled back the dagger, and slid off him. Clint sat up, and saw Red Skull standing, now visible in the corner of the room. Yelena was facing him, and held up her hand as she clenched the knife.

* * *

Clint had no idea what was going on, but it didn't take a genius to know Skull was controlling Yelena. His arm hurt like a bitch, blood was running down his arm. He'd have to get some serious medical attention when he got back to SHIELD. He refocused on what was happening; it hurt too much to move. Based on the way Yelena did everything slowly, it seemed she was fighting it. That and the fact she was still holding the dagger.

"I said drop it." Skull looked almost irritated.

* * *

Yelena gritted her teeth. She was not going to let go of her weapon, she was not going to let go of her weapon, and then the dagger clattered to the ground. How was he doing this? What would he do with her? She cloaked her fear in anger, how dare he try to command the Black Widow!

"I'm sure you're curious as to how I'm… directing you? It quite a useful combination of things we whipped up back in the good old days, how else would so many have committed all those atrocities, if we didn't have control? Some do-gooder would always get in the way, worming their way through the good troops and ruin everything. This eliminates that. I've been drugging you since we began business. Now, kneel." Skull was obviously relishing his control of her, and she fell to her knees with a painful thud. Skull reached out to stroke her face, and she practically hissed she was so angry.

* * *

Clint reached slowly behind him to grab his bow, even though he probably couldn't shoot with his arm, but instead he felt his fingers wrap around a gun. Natasha's gun to be precise, it must of slipped out when he'd gotten shot. Now he had a problem, he could shoot the pair of them and be done with this mess! Or he could shoot just Red Skull. Yelena looked like she was in trouble… he imagined what Natasha would say if she saw him, _you idiot! Shoot the bastard and the bitch!_

Well maybe that what she would do, it's not like he wouldn't shoot a woman. He'd shot many before, but she had no way to defend herself. He imagined what Cap would say, he'd probably say to save her, granted that worked so well the first time. Banner would just be concerned he'd get mad and hurt someone. Tony would save her, so he could try to get her in bed….so not quite. Besides if she turned on him, he wouldn't be able to do much. His arm was shot, literally and metaphorically.

"What the hell." He muttered as he shot the Red Skull where it'd count. It was a spot easy to save, if he got medical attention quickly enough. He turned the gun on Yelena.

* * *

The minute Red Skull had been shot, she knew she was free. She grabbed the dagger, and slowly turned to face Clint. She knew she could block the shot with the dagger if it came to that, she was trained that well. However, she was interested. She knew Natasha cared for him, which would indicate some killer instinct and if the positions were reversed she would shoot him in a heartbeat, his actually. However, he seemed to be struggling. They were locked in silence as they looked at each other. The gun was pointed to the same place he'd shot Red Skull, but there wasn't a sound.

* * *

Captain America had handed Natasha to medical personal the minute he got to the carrier. The personal in turn ushered her into several procedures. Her head was swimming, but she knew there was something important she needed to ask about. Then they started dosing her with drugs for the procedure where they shoved a tube down her throat and poured charcoal down her throat. It was not pleasant, but it'd eliminate whatever cocktail all the drugs in her system were forming. They started strapping her down; there was a good chance she'd barf of the charcoal solution, very nasty.

Her limbs hurt, there was lot of pain. She wondered where Clint was, she usually could see his face peering in from the window. She'd never tell him what that meant to her, him watching over her while she was unconscious. The comfort and security he gave her when she was so vulnerable. So why wasn't he here?

She gasped as she realized that Clint was facing Yelena and the Red Skull alone! She'd even taken Cap as back up! She was an idiot, she needed to help him…but the stupid medical people thought that her gasp was one of pain and gave her more drugs, as they flooded her system she quickly lost grip on reality.

* * *

Cap immediately sought the man who was monitoring all the personal in the tunnels and directed him to the room where Hawkeye was fighting. Cap knew if Clint made it out, he need help getting back here. The leader gave a curt nod and Cap started to head that direction.

* * *

"Why?" He asked.

"Why what?" Yelena asked with frustration. Clint didn't blame her, he doubted she'd been in many situations where people asked questions first and shot later, but he was curious after all Natasha had told him, he was curious.

"_Why_ do you want to kill Black Widow so much?" Clint asked, "I mean I get wanting full rights to the name, but that's not you. You are an amazing assassin, so why are you focusing so much on stealing from someone else? You could easily get your own name."

"It's not just the name fool," She scowled, "you don't know what it's like, from the minute I began the Black Widow program, I was constantly aware of _her_." She spit the word out like it was diseased. "The Russians always talked about her, and I was her replacement. Constantly trained and prepared to be like her."

She continued, "No one cared about who Yelena was, I was 15 years old. Other girls learn about who they are, I learned how to kill a man like Natasha would. I was injured like Natasha was during her training, punished if I didn't recover, fight, or do anything that Natasha wouldn't. No, you don't understand, how could you? She is everything they wanted me to be; can you even understand what it would feel like to have the ultimate victory? To finally prove that I was better, that I was good enough. That I'm a real person.

You know what the kicker is? If she had never left Russia, I would never have been chosen. I could have done something, been something. I could…have been a kindergarten teacher, me the assassin teaching little kids their ABC's. But I never had a chance." Yelena's voice was bitter.

She had never said those words out loud; she didn't trust anyone with them. She understood now why Natasha loved him. He was someone you could tell everything too, and he'd still accept you. She knew every murder Natasha had ever committed, every kill and she bet Hawkeye knew them too, but he still loved her. There was something there to love.

She waited, wondering what Hawkeye would do; she had threatened his lover, beat his lover, beat him, tortured him, and drugged both of them. She knew what she would do, and she knew what Natasha would do. But this was not Natasha or her; this was the man that Natasha loved. The man who loved Natasha back.

* * *

Clint stumbled out of the room. He was idiot, a complete fool. Natasha would probably injure him. He had her, the woman who had been torturing them for who knows how long! But he'd put the gun down.

A breath passed, and then she was gone. She darted out the door and ran; he could hear her steps down the hall. He had waited until he couldn't hear her steps anymore, and then steeled himself as he tried to pull himself up. He had to get back to SHIELD, he had no idea what he would say…to anyone. He felt that moment with Yelena and he felt like he understood, a little. He had heard every horror story from Natasha's training; he knew what she'd been through to get out, to get to him.

When he met her, she was very similar to Yelena. He hoped she could find herself.

**By the way, I won't have a chance to post a new chapter for a while, SHIELD just called me on an assignment that may last for a week or more (you never know with those pesky spy missions), anyway I'll be deep undercover and won't have access to internet, so I'll see what I can do when I get back!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Whew, successfully returned from my mission, top secret of course, so I can't say much just that it was...noisy...**

**Hope you enjoy the conclusion of Just the Diversion!**

**Chapter 9**

"Did I do the right thing?" Clint was sitting on the bed, his back to her.

Natasha gave a slight smile, she had just walked in and very quietly too, but Clint always knew when she was in the same room as him. When they had started, she grilled him on it; she thought that she was doing something wrong. "No," Clint had said, "I just know. I can…feel you in the room." She'd left it at that, because if there was ever someone she didn't mind not being able to sneak up on, it was him.

She focused on his question. It was so…Clint. He was asking an assassin who had killed many more people that she cared to remember if something was right or not.

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously, but she knew. This was about Yelena.

* * *

Clint didn't want to say her name, he was so afraid that Natasha would be angry with him and he…didn't know how he felt about it. "Did I do the right thing by not pursuing her? Yelena I mean." He held his breath waiting for her answer.

She slid her hand on his shoulder, and he leaned his head gently on it. They'd had time to recover, there had been a couple touch and go moments, the poisons kicked up quite the fight in her system and they couldn't do too much without exacerbating her physical injuries, but given time she'd heal.

He would too, and he waited at her bed side like he always did when she was injured, just like she always did when he was.

"Why _did_ you let her go?" Natasha asked. This was a very tentative conversation.

"I…she…I saw you in her. The old you, I guess she was just doing what she'd been told and lashing out against what had been done to her. I honestly don't know what she's going to do now, but I don't think she knows either." Natasha sat next to him, but he didn't met her eyes.

"I think she's at a crossroads and she has to decide for herself, about her life. She never had the opportunity to do that before, and I hope she doesn't keep going after you. I'm sorry if you're angry, I didn't mean you to be; but I couldn't go after her, physical reasons aside of course." Clint tried to explain. He still wasn't meeting her eyes.

Natasha put her cool hands on his face, and pulled it gently so he would look at her. Her beauty always left him breathless, but especially after the real possibility of losing her, he treasured every glance and moment. Her eyes were beautiful orbs of green…ness.

"Clint, I understand why you let her go. I see it too. Every time we fight, every move she does, I know what that feels like. You know what I went through, and now you know what she did. I couldn't expect you to hunt her after that. I always hoped she'd be better…able to handle _life_ outside of everything." Clint took a breath, Natasha's words had calmed his racing heart.

"I'm so sorry for everything you went through." Despite Clint's words, it was Natasha who was holding him.

"It was not pleasant, but it was a path. A path that led me here to you, and I wouldn't change that." With that they kissed, a slow sweet kiss with all their feelings of caution and fear, as they melted in understanding and the true depth of their affection.

* * *

**Epilogue**

"Ana! Grab the cakes!" The woman formerly known as Black Widow pulled on hot oven mitts and pulled out three freshly baked chocolate cakes.

"We'll let them cool, and then frost them." Another woman spoke, her name was Kimberly. She owned the bakery shop. She'd been more than happy to give the mysterious Anastasia a job at her shop, she seemed very eager to learn and kind.

Yelena smiled, just maybe she could get the hang of this. Working shifts, having free time, and no one was shooting at her yet. Sounded like a good day. Who knows, maybe Anastasia's pretty handy with the icing?

She smiled, Anastasia means resurrection, and maybe, just maybe this could be hers.

* * *

**Thank you everyone who has been a faithful reviewer and I hoped this tied the story up nicely for you! Have a great summer! If you want, check me out, but I'm all over the place so my next fan fic won't be Avengers, I know bummer right? Who knows, I might do another though!**


End file.
